


What's left behind

by JanaRumpandRCJawnn (JanaRumpandRCJawwn)



Series: WIP collection [7]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Depression, M/M, Trauma, War Themes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 07:14:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29381208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JanaRumpandRCJawwn/pseuds/JanaRumpandRCJawnn
Summary: There was someone at the door.Viktor wasn’t sure how long they had been there, he wasn’t even sure how long he himself had been standing at the foyer. He hadn’t seen anyone in so long, and he wondered if he could still speak at all, sounds other than groans and the screams he often woke up to. There was no reason to talk in an empty house....Many lonely years after veteran Viktor Nikiforov retreated to his isolated English country house, a mystifying stranger finds his way into his life.
Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov
Series: WIP collection [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2158185
Kudos: 9





	What's left behind

**Author's Note:**

> Maaan the poetics we had planned for this one...

There was someone at the door. 

Viktor wasn’t sure how long they had been there, he wasn’t even sure how long he himself had been standing at the foyer. The knocks were non-stop, desperate, making even his sturdy door shake on its hinges. He didn’t know when he’d stepped closer to touch it, but kept tracing the patterns in the wood as he considered gathering courage to open it. He hadn’t seen anyone in so long, couldn’t even reply to the letters Yakov often sent, and he wondered if he could still speak at all, sounds other than groans and the screams he often woke up to. There was no reason to talk in an empty house.

“Please, it’s so cold…” A voice from the other side broke through the whooshing of the blizzard. Looking through the closest window he saw snow had started falling, though he hadn’t noticed when, and now it piled up so heavy that he couldn't possibly leave someone outside to brave it. Even if it was a complete stranger who could be dangerous, but then there wasn’t much that could be done to him worse than what he’d already done himself.

The man on the other side was practically freezing as he stood there, clothes unsuited for the weather, spectacles half covered in ice. He stared at Viktor for a long moment, seeming utterly confused, like he hadn’t expected the door to ever open. He wasn’t western, that was clear, and for a moment Viktor wondered what he was doing in this nowhere, how had he even gotten here. Viktor hadn’t faced the japanese back in the war, he hadn’t killed them himself, but he knew he would have if given the order. He wouldn’t dream about harming this man though, the war was over and this stranger needed help. He might not be a good person, but it wasn’t like Viktor was one either in the first place. “Come in, let’s get you warm.” His voice was impossibly hoarse, but he still sounded mostly like a person he supposed. 

The stranger didn’t say a word as Viktor practically dragged him through the corridor and into the living room, where the hearth was lit. He sat the man on an armchair by the fire, who just stared at him like a deer in front of a hunter, but Viktor was sure the warmth would do him good. “Stay here, I’ll go get some blankets. And some vodka.” 

The stranger still didn’t say a word, lost eyes back on the fire now. It had to be the hypothermia, he probably didn’t have energy for anything really, so Viktor left him there and went to the guest room in search of a blanket. He hadn’t been there in ages, but it still looked as dusty and vacant as he remembered, and it was easy enough to find a thick wool blanket. Once he hauled it back the man’s eyes went back to him, silent and pliable as Viktor made sure he was covered and tried to smile - it felt so stiff, like his muscles didn’t know how to move like that any longer. “I’m Viktor, you are safe here.” His accent felt stilted, and for a moment he wondered if the man had even understood him. 

A hand slowly came up to touch his face, dark eyes seeming uncomprehending still. He couldn’t help but to flinch away, unaccustomed to having someone so near, but then guilt followed when that hand retracted just as quick. It hadn’t been his wish to reject the gesture, unexpected and strange as it was. He smiled again to dispel the tension, rushing away towards the kitchen to grab some alcohol. 

The kitchen was a mess of dishes to be done, and had there always been so many spider webs? Not that he minded those too much, at least this way there were some other living beings in this house. He opened cabinet after cabinet looking for his bottles - he had to still have some of those, even with the amount he drank he couldn’t have downed it all already, could he? Finally he found one sole bottle on the back of a cupboard, dusty and forgotten. He would give only a shot to the stranger for now, it felt cheap but he needed the rest for the bad days, and it wasn’t like he would go to the nearby town to get some anytime soon. 

As he once more made his way into the living room though, he was surprised to find the blanket laying there empty, the stranger nowhere to be seen. Viktor felt his teeth clenching, the tension of those months in the cold of war coming back. Even if he doubted the man would be any threat in the state he was, he just couldn’t let it be. Luckily it didn’t take much searching, the front door open wide and snow trailing in. It made no sense why someone would go back out into this weather, did he want to perish? For a second Viktor considered going after him, but he couldn’t be bothered to leave the house to go after someone he barely knew at all. He closed and bolted the door tight, determined to forget this incident had ever happened. 

It wasn’t the first death on his back that he would have to numb away anyway.

-

Viktor was in the living room when he heard the same desperate knocking the following night, huddled on an armchair with a bottle of vodka in his hand. He frowned at the ceiling for a while before getting up, swaying on numb feet. Maybe it was curiosity, or maybe it was some last drags of compassion, but he did find himself opening the door yet again at the sound of trembly pleading. There stood the same young easterner, dressed in coarse cotton and shivering from head to toe. This time though he was the one to speak first. “Can I come in? Please?”

Viktor nodded, helping the freezing man inside and closing the door behind him. “Of course. I don’t even know why you left last night, you could have died in this blizzard.”

The man stared at him, blinking slowly. “No, I couldn’t.” And Viktor was more sure than ever that this poor soul was not well. Still, he took a step to the side leaving room for his unusual guest to make his way back inside.

“You know the way to the living room I assume.” Viktor had spoken more in these past two nights than in all the years since he had moved into this house. 

The man didn’t reply, finding his way back to the same armchair Viktor had sat him last. The wool blanket was still there, and Viktor himself laid on the couch, not knowing what else to do now. Should he perhaps be a better host? Not that it mattered that much. The fireplace was lit, right? At least he felt the warmth radiating from where it should be, and Viktor let his eyes grow heavier. 

Before letting oblivion take him, however, his gaze drifted towards his shivering guest, who had covered himself in the blanket and looked about to drift into sleep himself. There was a fragility to the way this strange man sat there that made Viktor think of porcelain cameos, and other things that people like Viktor broke without intention. He could remember the shattered pieces of porcelain dolls under his boots- He took a big swig from the bottle of vodka, trying to push those thoughts away. 

And thankfully it wasn’t long till the alcohol lulled into the peaceful non-existence of sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Did you figure out which au this one is? Shoot a comment if you have a guess!


End file.
